Happily Ever After
by WritingBookworm
Summary: 'If there was one thing that Emma Swan had learned during her time in Storybrooke, it was that true love could break any curse.' [Swanfire, NealxEmma. Spoilers for 3x15. AU]


**A/N: So yeah, this is my response to the (ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE AND FEELS-WRENCHING) episode last night. Yes, I'm in denial. Yes, so I wrote this in turn. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it, and VIVE LA SWANFIRE!**

**Because if Swanfire can't get their happy ending in canon, then gosh dang it, they're getting it in fanon!**

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Happily Ever After

She ran, ran, ran, and only stopped when she got there.

There he was.

Out of breath, Emma took in the body resting on the coffin. From what she could see from across the room, he looked just like he had when he'd died in her arms.

Except maybe he hadn't.

Emma took another step forward and looked around the cathedral very deliberately, half-expecting a flying monkey to suddenly lunge out of the shadows and attempt to claw her eyes out. But all there was were the multicolored rays of the stained-glass windows brushing the empty chairs, the silent stillness, and, at the end of the room, the mahogany coffin in which the Storybrooke residents had laid him to rest.

Slightly more assured now, she detached her hand from her gun holster. She shoved aside her weariness and sprinted down the wood floor, each stride becoming longer and faster and more vigorous the nearer to him she got.

The Wicked Witch of the West was gone. But before they'd defeated her, she and everyone else had discovered that the dark magic Neal had used to bring Rumpelstiltskin back did not, in fact, require a life. The Wicked Witch had told Rumpelstiltskin this to make him suffer, but in reality the transaction cursed him, forcing Neal in a death-like state.

And if there was one thing Emma Swan had learned from her time in Storybrooke, it was that true love could break any curse.

She stopped when she reached the coffin and looked down.

There he was.

Neal Cassidy.

Baelfire.

The son of the Dark One, father to Henry.

Her true love.

Emma gripped the edges of the coffin as though she was trying to crush it. She gulped and opened her mouth to breathe properly. Her eyes skittered around her surroundings.

What if their discovery turned out to be false?

What if true love's kiss didn't work?

What if. . .

What if she didn't _want_ Neal to return?

She remembered her time in Neverland when she had discovered that Neal was in fact alive and captured by Pan. At first, she hadn't known why she wasn't enthusiastic about this, but later she'd admitted to herself that she'd been hoping he was dead, hoping that he was dead and they would no longer have to suffer.

And now?

If she was being honest with herself. . .

Emma lowered her eyes and attempted to fight off the maelstrom of confusion and grief swirling inside her head.

The attempt was failing.

And then, like a ray of light, a memory pierced the maelstrom.

She'd just finished confessing this to him, allowing the cage to dissolve. She half-expected him to stay quiet, avoid her, at least look at her in disbelief-

The first thing he'd done was reach out and hug her.

The ray only got brighter. She remembered how he'd told her that he would always fight for her and how comfortable they were with each other and how they could both bond over evil fiancees and how she'd never, ever _stopped loving him_-

Emma bent down and pressed her lips against his.

An untamed power rose from within her core and released itself into the world. It surged through the the cathedral and through her very heart, blowing her pale blonde hair back. Her eyes were wide.

She looked up at the ceiling, still properly processing everything. That was exactly what had happened when she'd broken Regina's curse-

"Emma?"

She gasped and looked back down to see Neal pushing himself into a sitting position and staring at her.

Emma was frozen. Her eyes were now even wider. It worked.

"Neal?"

For a moment equivilant to an eternity, all they could do was stare at one another and drink each other in and process the realness of it all-

This was real. . .

Like water bursting out of a dam, relief flooded her chest and her lips broke out into a wide smile. "Neal."

And then Neal was grinning too, grinning the grin that she loved. "Emma."

He got down from the coffin. Not a moment after his feet touched the floor did he and Emma embrace.

She hugged him tighter than she ever had before, almost as though he'd slip away as soon as she let go. She reinforced her grip, her heart leaping all around her chest, and in turn she felt him do the same.

Finally she pulled herself apart from him, still keeping her arms around his waist. Brown eyes locked with hazel-

Then they kissed.

And in that moment, nothing was lost and everything was complete.

They stopped only when they were both utterly breathless.

"I love you," Neal said.

Her heart felt a comforting warmth. "I love you, too."

"How'd you-" Neal blinked and tried again. "What happened, I thought I died, so why-please don't tell me you used da-"

"There was no dark magic involved," Emma assured. She gave a weary smile. "Now come on. We've got to get you to Henry and your father, tell them that you're back. I'll explain everything later."

"I thought you said Henry-"

"His memories are back, a lot happened. Like I said, I'll explain everything later."

Together Neal and Emma walked down the floor. They were almost at the door when Emma suddenly stopped. A realization slowly dawned upon her.

Neal turned around and looked at her. "Emma? What is it?"

She shook her head. "Nothing, just that. . ." She took a deep breath. "I'd thought I'd lost you twice now, and one of my regrets during those periods is that we'd never gone to Tallahassee together."

She looked at him right in the eyes. "I think it's time we find Tallahassee."

But all Neal did was give a small chuckle. "But Emma, I'd say we've already found it."

She stared at him for a long moment, mulling over his words.

"Yeah," she said at last. "You're right."

Neal smiled and gestured over to the doors with his head. He reached for her hand, which she took.

Their hands fit perfectly.

Then, together, they opened the doors and walked out to Storybrooke.

Out to their Tallahassee.


End file.
